Lives Change
by everybodyloveslupin
Summary: Sienna Collins chick i made up Alex rider, one night at a party, they meet fall for each other but then the unthinkable happens, will they survive.
1. the begginning

Sienna Collins let out a long exasperated sigh as she stared back at herself in the mirror for the tenth time.

"Enna" her best friend Addison groaned

"You look amazing, stop looking at yourself and let's go already"

It was Saturday night in London, England, and Addison who was somewhat a socialite party girl, had conned her best friend Sienna into joining her at her boyfriend of nine months, James's party.

Sienna took one more look at herself in the mirror, taking everything in and examining herself from head to toe with a very critical eye. She was tallish, with long soft golden blonde curls that feel just below her shoulders. She had delicate facial features, plump lips, and tanned skin. Sienna had a gorgeous figure with curves in all the right places, even though she refused to acknowledge it. But by far her most stunning feature was her eyes, bright and curious they were a stunning electric blue. Sienna was bubbly, cheerful, but shy and conservative to people who she didn't know, she was always on the move doing something, she was one of those people who loved a change because it bought more excitement, and absolutely hated being bored, she really bright and intelligent, everyone kept telling her she had tonnes of potential and she could do anything she wanted, but she didn't have a clue what she wanted...just yet anyway. Her curious eyes where the ones sienna now found herself staring at in the mirror of her best friend's bed room, Addison Lista.

Addison was tall and skinny, she had slightly paler skin than sienna, emerald green eyes, and long dead straight fiery red hair. She had sharp features with little freckles dotted across her nose. Addison was wild, to put it simply, she was passionate about the environment, she had a temper as fiery as her hair if she got riled up, she was party girl, always somewhere with someone, she lived life to the full, very honest, doesn't take shit from anyone, but most of all she was terribly loyal, she always stuck by Sienna no matter what. Sienna was very grateful that she had such an amazing best friend. The two of them together made an amazing pair Addison with her fiery red hair and take me as I am attitude and Sienna with her blonde curls, and her go with the flow approach to life. But although they where an unlikely duo, the two were inseparable, they had been best friends for their entire lives and had no intention of that changing.

The same best friend was now yelling at her from the bottom of the stairs to hurry up. Sienna tugged uncomfortably on her black tube dress, it was tight around her boobs and then fell loosely to mid thigh, she had dressed it up with a long gold chained looped around her neck twice, gold strappy heels, and a sparkly clutch. Addison was right she did look amazing but she felt terribly exposed.

"Come on Enna we're going to be late" yelled Addison from the bottom of the stairs.

"Coming" called back Sienna, she grabbed her clutch, pushed a stray curl behind her ear as she ran out of Addison's bed room, down the stairs and out the front door. Sienna closed the door behind her and cringed as she turned around to find Addison's mum Rachel waiting out the front in the family business truck. Complete with...

**LISTA ELECTRICITY**

**We'll be there in a flash**

painted in bright red across one side. She looked at Addison who was bristling with anger, shot her a sympathetic look, took her arm and helped her clamber in to the backseat of the truck.

"Mum" Addison seared through her teeth

"We can't arrive in this; we'll be the laughing stock of the whole party"

"I had a feeling you would that darling, but this is the only thing left your father took the car and Robert (Addison's older brother) took the Ute" Rachel said gently

"But mum" Addison was getting angrier by the minute, if this got any worse Sienna would be lucky to get to the party with her hearing still intact.

"Well how about I drop you off around the corner so nobody see's and you can walk the rest of the way" Rachel said, choosing her words very carefully knowing the consequences of Addison loosing her temper.

Addison's face softened when she heard this, "yeah thanks mum that would be great" she said, calming down a little.

Sienna enjoyed the rest of the trip in silence. Rachel dropped the girls off round the corner, with a warning about no drinking, but knowing they would be anyway, and drove off with a wave. Both girs breathed a sigh of relief as they watched her drive away.

" Lets go Enna" Addison said excitedly "I can't wait"

Addison's mood was catchy and soon both girls where strolling down the street confidently with large grins plastered on their faces towards James's house. The girls walked in and instantly greeted eagerly by James.

"Hey Baby" she said to Addison " you look great"

Addison blushed " thanks baby" she said as she kissed him lightly on the lips.

James must have just realised that Sienna was standing there because he stopped whispering things in Addison's ear that were making her go an even darker shade of pink.

"oh, hey Enna" he said cheerfully "Nice to see you"

Just then some other people walked through the door

" Gotta Go baby, more people to meet" he grinned " Party's in there" he said and pointed to the lounge room, although it was kind of hard to miss, since the music had just been cranked up and you could feel it throbbing through the house. Sienna took Addison's hand, and gave her an excited look as both girls walked down the hall and into the living room.

"Here we go" Sienna said, but Addison hadn't heard her, her voice had been drowned out by the music which was now blasting through her, she let the beat and rhythm of the music take her as she drifted into the room, she was instantly swamped, people left right and centre shouting hello's and waving at Sienna and Addison as they made their way through the crowd over to their group of friends.


	2. Sienna and Alex

**DISCLAIMER: ****i**** don't own ****alex**** rider****..never**** have never will...**

**A/N ok ****heres**** the next chapter, ****im**** not quite sure if ****i**** got ****alex**** quite like ****i**** wanted him to be...but ****i**** hope you like it****XXX lots of reviews!!**

Alex Rider yawned and stretched his tanned, muscly arms above his head as he sat slouched on a red velvety sofa in the corner of the room. He was at a party, with Tom Harris, his best mate, Tom had got an invite from someone who new someone, who new someone, that was friends with the guy having the party. Alex had just got back from a mission with MI6 and needed some time away from his double life, Tom being such a wonderful friend had practically dragged Alex out his front door, assuring him that a good party and some hot girls was just what the doctor ordered. Alex on the other hand wasn't so sure, loud wild partying wasn't his style, the music was so loud that he could barely hear himself think, and he wasn't in the mood, not to me...

"Hey dude" Tom was stumbling over to him, interrupting his thoughts, Tom was swaying his hips from side to side madly, trying very hard to keep in time with the music, which was putting him wildly off balance, crashing into everyone and everything as he made his way over to Alex, attached firmly to his side was a ditsy blonde wearing such a short and revealing pink dress that it would have been illegal in at least three countries. Tom saw him looking.

He winked at Alex and mouthed " Not bad aye"

Alex nodded and grinned at his drunken friend.

" why don't you come and dance mate, the ladies aren't half bad" Tom slurred as he planted a sloppy kiss on the blondes lips. He pulled away giggling childishly and then hiccupping twice.

"Nah no thanks mate, I'm ok at the moment" Alex said, he had just escaped the firm grasp of one of Tom's "ladies" who happened to be wearing even less than the ditsy blonde and practically poured herself onto him the minute he walked past.

"Well suit yourself, I'm off" Tom said excitedly as he dragged his blonde into the nearest bedroom and promptly closed the door .

Alex grimaced, he stood up looking around the room.

"I'm going to need something to drink, if I'm going to get through this in one piece" he thought.

Being extra careful to avoid the girl he had just ditched, he made his way through the crowd, and over to the ice bath, which was housing all the grog for the night.

Alex was rather tall, he had a wiry build but was reasonably strong and could hold him own quite comfortably, he had longish messy fair hair, that fell around his face loosely, he had sharp defined features, and gorgeous light blue eyes, that hardly ever gave anything away, which would have been expected for the kind of things Alex did. He was a spy for the British intelligence agency MI6, he had been on several missions already, but he didn't like it, they used him and had put the people he loved in terrible danger, which had hardened him on the inside in such a way that was irreversible, but he was careful to never let that show, he was shy, distant, and hard to get to know, but once you did it was worth it, underneath Alex was fun loving, passionate when he wanted to be, he had an odd sense of humour, but always managed to make people laugh, he had strong opinions but didn't like to make himself the centre of attention. It was this guy that girls found irresistible, he could get anyone he wanted, well so he was told. But Alex wasn't like that, he didn't go out with anyone and less he liked them, and the girls that had tried to get his attention, hadn't gotten it for the right reasons.

Tonight Alex was wearing a pair of baggy jeans and a dark green collared polo shirt that complimented his complexion nicely. He wasn't really looking for attention.

Alex pushed his way through the crowd, leant over the tub and pulled out an icy cold beer. Alex turned to walk away but as he did he bumped into a girl who promptly dropped the cruiser she was holding. Alex looked around quickly and came face to face with a girl about a head shorter than him, blonde curly hair and the most gorgeous blue eyes he had ever seen in his life. She was smiling at him sweetly as she bent down to pick up her spilt drink.

"Ss..sorry" he stammered

"Nah it's ok" she said, "I didn't like that one much anyway"

Sienna smiled nervously looking up at the gorgeous blonde guy in front of her, he smiled back and she instantly relaxed, he held out his hand,

"I'm Alex" he said and smiled again

"Sienna" she said back as she extended her own arm out to shake his out stretched hand

"Sienna" Addison yelled as she came bounding out of the crowd, cruiser in one hand, and James in the other.

"Over here" Sienna called back and waved to her friend, who instantly joined her and Alex.

"OOhh" she said to Sienna, referring to Alex with her eyebrows showing her approval, "who's this"

"Addison, this is Alex, Alex this is Addison" she said quietly desperately praying Addison wouldn't do anything to embarrassing to make this guy freak out and leave.

"Well kids" she said grinning, just then Addison gave an almighty shove and pushed both Alex and Sienna back onto a large couch directly behind them.

"OOf" Sienna said as she fell back onto the couch landing partly off the couch and partly on Alex's lap.

"Sorry" she said quickly standing up and a repositioning herself so she was actually sitting on the couch this time,

"Oh God" she thought "way to go Addison" Addison's voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Bye Bye kiddies, be Good" she said with a cheeky grin plastered across her pretty face and with that the red head disappeared into the crowd, James followed and quickly shot them both a "sorry about that" look and went after her.

Sienna turned to Alex who was staring after Addison with a bemused look on his face.

"Is she always that straight forward about things" he laughed

"Yeah, that's Addison" She laughed back

Alex was desperately trying to think of something to say, but annoyingly the words seemed to have caught in his throat. Luckily she didn't seem so tongue tied because she looked at him, shot him another one of her dazzling smiles and politely said.

"So, how do you know James"

"Who?" Alex responded, a confused look spread across his serious face .

Sienna laughed "James Lesley..you know the one who's party your at"

A look of realisation spread across Alex's features

"Oh" she said laughing "Your one of those people who got invited by someone who knows someone..right"

"Yer, Alex said, I'm here with my mate Tom Harriss he invited me dunno how he got invited though" he said thoughtfully

"Tom Harriss" Sienna repeated " I don't think I know him"

"Ummmm" Alex scanned the room looking for Tom, then spotted him lying on a couch in the far corner of the room on top of his ditsy blonde, they had unfortunately for the rest of the party goers been kicked out of their room.

"There he is" Alex said frowning pointing across the room at Tom. "On top of that blonde chick in the partially undone pink dress"

Sienna laughed and looked at him with a bemused expression on her face.

"Dunno who the blonde is though" Alex added as an after thought.

"That's Cecilia" Sienna said rolling her eyes

"And that partially undone dress she's wearing, is not unusual for her...you know what I mean" Sienna said looking over at the blonde and frowning "She gets around"

"Oh, well I don't think Tom will mind" he responded smiling "he's too drunk too notice"

"Yer I gathered" Sienna said giggling as Tom Temporarily stopped making out with Cecilia to skull the remaining two thirds of his bear, belching loudly, and then returning to the task at hand

The conversation went smoothly from then on, with the topic changing from movies, to sport, to school, to many other things as the party started to disintegrate around them, people getting drunker, and gradually everyone started to drift out, except those who were to drunk, tired, or plane stupid and decided they would sleep right where they were. Alex and Sienna however were blissfully unaware, lost in their own little world.

Alex slung his arm protectively around Sienna's shoulders as a drunk fell over and landed on the couch beside her. She cringed as the drunk fell onto the floor snoring loudly. She turned around to face Alex who was staring intently into her eyes.

"What" she said smiling slightly

"You have nice eyes" he said seriously "Very intense"

From anyone else this would have annoyed Sienna, but Alex looked so honest, and it felt good hearing him say it.

"Thanks" she said shyly

Alex smiled at her and caressed her cheek gently with his fingers. Sienna's stomach jumped at his touch, it has to be the alcohol she thought, there is no way someone's touch can make me feel so... refreshed.

As Alex leant in, his stomach felt like it was being dominated by millions of crazy butterflies, no butterflies was an understatement, mutant frogs would be more like it, yes mutant frogs he decided.

Then he kissed her


	3. the kiss

A/N ok here's the next chapter. thanks for your reviews, keep em coming, hope you like this one!!!

Sienna's eyes widened at the realisation of how much she liked kissing Alex. Wait what was she thinking, she'd known this guy for what like five hours and now she was kissing him, but on the other hand it felt so good, so right, his lips were soft and gentle on hers, yet the emotion behind the kiss was so intense. She loved it.

Sienna bought her hands up and gently ran her fingers through his hair, sending a shiver down his spine. He pulled her closer, she obliged and deepened the kiss. Suddenly they were interrupted by a very loud, very definite

"Ahem"

Sienna reluctantly broke away, she was annoyed, whoever it was had better have a dam good reason for interrupting

"What" Sienna said with an annoyed tone in her. She looked up.

"Hello kids, having fun are we"

A very embarrassed look crossed Sienna's face as she looked up to find Addison standing directly in front of her, arms crossed, and a bemused look on her face.

Sienna grinned goofily "H...h...a..a" Sienna was desperately trying to think of something to say, some explanation, SOMETHING, but all she was managing at the moment was stuttering aimlessly as she looked up at Addison's smiling face. Luckily Alex came to her rescue.

"Well hello there Addison, can we help you" Alex said grinning, as she squeezed Sienna gently, reassuring her.

"Well yes actually" Addison replied "unfortunately for you two, Sienna and I must be on our way, in case you haven't noticed, which I'm sure you haven't, the party is pretty much over"

Alex and Sienna looked around surprised; sure enough many of the last sober people were drifting out the door shouting goodbyes and thanks for the great party. James was in the process of shooing all the drunks out with a broom, whacking them painfully every now and then if they decided that they didn't want to leave. Alex sure Tom standing up, he had lost his blonde companion and thankfully was looking a little less drunk than the last time. Tom was clutching his bum, where James had just whacked him with the broom, a pained expression on his face he stumbled out the door.

"I had better go and make sure he gets home alright" Alex thought, but he was reluctant to Sienna just like that. He could see Sienna felt the same way as she was looking pleadingly up at Addison, the two seemed to be communicating with their eyes, Alex was trying to understand what they were saying to each other, but eventually Addison's eyes softened. She smiled at Alex.

"Sienna I've got to say goodbye to James I'll meet you outside in about 5 minutes"

Sienna smiled at her gratefully.

Addison walked over to James said something, they exchanged a quick kiss and a hug, and with a quick glance and a grin in Sienna's direction she walked outside. Sienna looked at Alex who was grinning at her.

"Monday" he said, it was the holidays and they had weeks off before they went back to school.

Sienna grinned "Perfect" she said "meet me at 2:00 at Terry's cafe"

They exchanged a quick kiss before Sienna hurried out the door after Addison,

Alex grinned he loved that little place; it was in a nice little secluded place overlooking the river. He stood up, his night hadn't been so bad after all. Alex walked outside looking around anxiously for Tom. Hopefully he hadn't gotten himself into too much trouble. Alex didn't have to look very hard. Tom was sitting in the gutter his head cradled in his hands. Alex walked over to him, hopefully he wasn't too drunk to walk home himself, Alex didn't fancy dragging him home. Tom heard him coming and stood up cringing.

"Hey man, ready to go" Tom said rubbing his temples painfully.

Alex looked at him surprised, 2 hours ago Tom hadn't been able to walk straight and now suddenly he was talking perfectly. Tom saw his surprise and laughed.

"All I can remember is waking up next to some slutty blonde, with a splitting headache" Tom said cringing. Alex laughed. Apparently falling asleep had worn off the effects of the alcohol leaving Tom with a hangover, and by the way he was cradling his head and cringing every time Alex spoke to him, it was a shocker.

"Mate, I can't go home like this, mum will kill me" Tom said "do you think Jack would mind if I crashed at yours tonight"

Alex grinned "Sure mate you can stay" he replied "But you're going to do the explaining to her the next morning why we ended up at mine instead of yours"

Tom grimaced "Thanks, she's not the only woman I'm going to have to explain too" he said referring to his mother.

Tom was the youngest child and his mother was a little bit overprotective. No a little was an understatement. Tom's mum Cindy had to know where he was all the time, who he was with, how long he was going to be, where he was staying, what he was doing. It annoyed the crap out of Tom and he liked to be unexpected, most of the time just to annoy his mother .

"So mate" Tom said as they started to head off down the road towards Alex's place, it was only a couple of blocks away.

"What did you get up to anything tonight"

"Nothing like you did" Alex said grinning

Tom punched him and laughed

"Let's just hope I don't have to see her again, I left in a bit of a hurry,"

Alex laughed. Tom had a bit of a habit of leaving like that, usually the girls weren't too happy about it.

"but enough about me, meet anyone" Tom said wiggling his eyebrows up and down, and nudging Alex suggestively.

"Maybe" Alex said casually

"Oooooooh" Tom was interested now

"Who was she, did you kiss her, when are you seeing her again?" Tom said Expectantly

"Sienna, yer, and Monday" Alex answered

Tom stopped in the middle of the road

"OH MY GOD you mean to say, you actually had fun tonight" Tom said in mock disbelief

"Good gracious what is the world coming to, Alex Rider had fun"

Alex pretended not to hear him and kept walking down the road, he could hear Tom almost wetting himself laughing at his own joke.

"Very funny" Alex said "At least I can remember what happened"

Tom suddenly became very serious "Hey he said, that's a very serious matter"

"Yer yer" Alex replied laughing

10 minutes later the boys arrived at Alex's house.

"Be very quiet" Alex whispered and they crept across the perfectly mowed lawn towards Alex's very large very neat house. Alex lived with his housekeeper Jack Starbright, although she was hardly a house keeper, more like a very good friend that looked after him, his uncle Ian Rider had hired her temporarily, to look after Alex when he was away on his "business trips" Ian had been a spy too, So was were his parents, well his father at least but Alex hadn't found that out until After Ian had died on a mission, and MI6 had blackmailed him into working for them. But that's a different story. So now it was just Jack and Alex living in his uncles huge house.

Crack "Ow" Tom hissed loudly

Alex cringed "Shut up back there" he hissed hopefully Jack hadn't heard.

Alex made it too the front he turned his key in the lock opened the door, too find a young woman in the doorway, she was in her mid twenties, with a sprawl of red hair and a boyish face.

"Well Hello there Jack" Alex said cheerfully

Jack laughed "Hello Alex" she said in her American accent.

Crack Crash

"OW"

"Hello Tom" Jack called out into the darkness

Sure enough a tall figure soon appeared out of the darkness swearing under his breath and rubbing his head frowning.

"Jack you really need to get rid of some of those trees"

Jack laughed "Come in boys" she said "It's late and I'm not even going to ask"

Alex and Tom walked inside and Jack closed the door behind them, locking it and switching out the light as the boys trudged up to Alex's room.

Sienna smiled happily to herself as Addison bombarded her with questions, they were walking down the street way from James's house

"What's he like?"

"Is he nice?"

"Is he a good kisser?"

"Are you going to see him again?"

"Did you give him your number?"

"Do you want to see him again?"

"Do you have his number?"

Addison was getting irritated because Sienna wasn't answering her questions

Sienna grinned back at Addison and said simply

"It was nice"

"Oh" replied Addison knowingly "It was one of those nights"

"Mmmm"

"Well I'll give you a minute to let it all sink in, and you can tell me everything when we get back to your place, here give me your phone and I'll call Steve to come and pick us up"

Sienna handed her phone over to Addison as they walked down the street to the corner where Steve, Sienna's Godfather would pick them up.

Sienna had been living with Steve since she was 15, she was now 17, so that was two years. She was an only child, and her parents had left her, it was Christmas morning, she loved Christmas well she had anyway.

_Sienna woke up, and instantly realising it was Christmas morning jumped out of bed, through on her dressing gown and raced down the stairs expecting to see her mum and dad sitting in their usual chairs with cups of coffee__, waiting for her with excited eyes. __But as Sienna raced down the hall towards to lounge room, where the Christmas tree was.__ She felt uneasy, like something wasn't quite right, the house felt empty and quiet, no Christmas carols playing on the radio on the kitchen bench, so mouth watering aroma of her breakfast cooking on the stove, She suddenly had an overwhelming jolt of loneliness, and she stopped dead in her tracks trembling with unease. She slowly inched her way into the lounge room._

_But her parents weren't there grinning at her, urging her to open her presents under the tree, in fact there weren't any presents under the tree, just a letter, folded neatly sitting on the coffee table. Sienna gingerly picked up, opened it and began reading. Tears instantly welled in her eyes as she read. It was addressed to her...and in her __mothers__ handwriting_

_Dearest Sienna, _

_Your father and I are terribly sorry that we're doing this,__ truly we are,__ we love you very __very__ much, but we feel that we can't handle the responsibilities of bringing you up anymore. It is too difficult for us. Sweetheart, you will be much better off without us, call Steve, he'll take you in. We'll come back someday, I promise._

_All our love_

_Mum and Dad._

_Sienna was trembling with rage. _

_"TO DIFFICULT FOR THEM", she screamed __" what__ about me, what__ am I__ supposed to do now"_

_She tore the letter up and violently threw the letter into the fireplace, watching it burn away to nothing,__ she wouldn't believe it, no it couldn't be true how could her parents do this too her, her parents, they were supposed to always be there for her, that was part of the gig, they couldn't be gone. No she wouldn't believe it. She stood up and started running through the house frantically searching for any sign that they were still here. This is all a joke she thought a really sick joke.__But when she could find no trace of her parents, no clothes in the cupboard, they're bed unslept in, the dishes from the night before still in the sink. Panic began to set in, they can't be gone she told herself, tears streaming down her face, they just can't. Suddenly the reality of it all came crashing down on her. She collapsed into a heap of hysterical sobs on the floor. And that is exactly where Steve found her two hours later, when he came by to wish them a happy Christmas. He picked her up, __and __bundled her into the car. _

Sienna had been living with Steve and Kate, his girlfriend ever since. They were nice, took care of her, Sienna had come to regard them as family. She never talked about her parents, she found it easier not too. She was doing ok, the past was behind her and she was determined not to let it get too her.

The girls were only waiting on the corner about 2 minutes before Steve's green station wagon pulled up and they jumped in.

"Hey Girls, nice night?" he asked as the sped towards Sienna's house

Both girls smiled at him and told him it had been a good night. They pulled up outside Sienna's house, and the girls tip toed inside, being careful not to wake Kate. They trudged up the stairs and into Sienna's room, she flicked on the light and took in her familiar surroundings, she had a square room, that was painted a light yellow, her double bed was in the centre of the room, with a bedside table, a book case full of books, photo's, and cute knick knacks. On the opposite wall stood a dressing table and a tv. Behind the door they had just walked in was Sienna's built in wardrobe, full to the brim with dozens of pieces Sienna just couldn't bear to part with, next to that was a small ensuite, with a bathtub, toilet and a sink. At the far end a single door opened up onto a small balcony overlooking the back yard. Sienna loved this room. It was the guest room but Steve and Kate had let her have it when she moved it. From the walls hung dozens of photo's in frames, a few of her family, some of Steve and Kate, and heaps of her and her friends. Both girls pulled on their pyjama's mumbling something about having a shower in the morning. Sienna's switched off the light as both girls practically fell into bed.

"Talk in the morning" Addison managed to mumble before both girls fell into a deep and well deserved sleep.


	4. Terry's

**A/N ok here's the next chapter I'm sorry it took so long to write but I couldn't get it write I'm still not even sure if I got it how ****i**** wanted it but ****i**** hope you like. Keep the reviews ****coming.**** Keep reading I'm going to try and put the big shocker in, in the next few chapters so bear with me. Enjoy XXXX.**

Sienna opened her eyes slowly as she took in the familiar surroundings of her bedroom. It was Monday, the day she was supposed to be meeting Alex at Terry's. After Sienna had dished the details of her night, Addison had promptly decided that she was going to stay so she could help Sienna decide what to wear, then she was going to wait (no matter how long) until Sienna got back, so good or bad Sienna had someone to talk about it too.

Sienna sat up and yawned, Addison was sitting on the end of her bed painting her nails fluoro green as she hummed quietly to music videos now playing on Sienna's TV.

"Morning Addy" she said cheerfully

"Errr" Sienna grunted in reply, intent on getting her nails perfect.

Sienna looked at the clock 10:30, that means only three and a half hours until she was meeting Alex.

She jumped out of bed, pulled the covers back hastily, and unintentionally bumping Addison who painted a large green stripe across her hand. She cringed when she saw the stripe.

"Hey" Addison said heatedly "Now look what you made me do, you big clutz"

"Sorry Addy" she responded "But it's an emergency, I've only got three hours to get ready, and I HAVE to look good"

Addison grinned "Yeah, Yeah, never fear, the master is here" Addison said gesturing to herself with a stuck up expression on her face.

Sienna snorted "You master...please"

Addison chucked a pillow at her "Fine then" Addison said with exaggerated hurt

Sienna laughed and walked out of the room to have a shower.

Alex sat and stared at his breakfast in front of him, Jack had made him and Tom bacon and eggs before she left for work. But Tom had just left, his mum had unexpectedly come by looking for him, Tom had "Forgotten" to call her the night before to tell her where he was, and she was angry, no angry was an understatement was furiously, raving, crazy, murderous angry, and as Tom grabbed his stuff, while his mother was screaming at him to hurry up. Alex felt terribly sorry for him. Tom would most likely be grounded for the rest of his natural life. So now he was by himself, staring at his eggs, swearing that the little yellow yokes were staring back at him, mocking him, whispering about him to the bacon, calling him a sook, a wuss, and they were right. Today was the day he was meeting Sienna and he had to admit he was a little nervous, no a bit more than a little, the mutant bats had returned and were refusing to let him eat his breakfast. Hundreds of thoughts were swimming around in his head.

'What if she doesn't turn up'

'what if she has a boyfriend'

'what if she's a lesbian'

'what if she's actually a guy'

Alex's thoughts were getting more ridiculous by the minute,

'Pull yourself together boy'

He thought and shovelled his bacon and eggs into his mouth, he finished quickly, now full and content that his eggs and bacon couldn't possibly be still talking about him, he put his plate onto the sink, and ran up stairs to have a shower, little did he know Sienna was just as nervous as he was.

"Addy" Sienna groaned "What am I going to wear, I have NOTHING"

Sienna said as she stood in front of her open closet in her bathrobe, dresses, shorts, shirts and jeans were all scattered on the floor around her, she groaned again as she threw her umpteenth pair of skinny's onto the floor in frustration.

"Go and do your hair" Addison said calmly, as she pushed Sienna into the bathroom "I'll pick"

"But Addy, I don't have ANYTHING" she said

"No buts, I'm picking"

Sienna smiled, "Thanks Addy"

"Yeah yeah, I know" Addison said laughing

Addison bent down and started rummaging around in the clothes on the floor, Sienna has hundreds of pieces that she pulled off flawlessly every time, why couldn't she just wear one of those. Then she saw it a cute little navy blue dress, it fell just above knee height, it was soft and flowing, flattering but not over the top, it had a low rounded neckline that would show off, but not expose Sienna's chest , it had a large pattern embroidered in orange and gold that would run directly across Sienna's boobs, it was chilly outside, So Addison continued to search until she found a cute white three quarter button up cardigan, and a large navy bag, she then pulled out a pair of brown strappy flats.

She smiled to herself "Perfect"

Right on cue Sienna emerged from the bathroom, she had little makeup on, giving her a glowing natural look, she had let her soft blonde curls fall once again lightly on her shoulders. She looked at the clothes Addison had laid out on her bed and grinned.

"Once again, you've saved my life" Sienna said laughing

Addison laughed "I know, the master triumphs again, now put them on already"

Sienna did as she was told, pulling on the dress, then the cardigan, strapping on the flats, and once again she found her blue eyes staring back at her in the mirror. She felt good, she had worn this dress once before and loved it, she wondered why she hadn't thought of it herself. But Addison had outdone herself, she looked great, and she felt amazing, the ensemble was simple yet elegant with a touch of vintage, a hint of class, but still gave off the casual vibe that Sienna wore so well. She was pleased with the way it all came together, and hoped Alex would like it.

"You look good" Addison said earnestly "He won't be able to resist"

"You think" Sienna said, still a little unsure

"You think I would say it if I didn't mean it" Addison replied

Sienna smiled at her in return "Of course not"

The girls were interrupted by Kate popping her head in the doorway

"Oh Enna you look good, going somewhere" Kate said with raised eyebrows

"Umm yer I'm meeting a friend at Terry's" Sienna replied

"Just a friend aye"

"Well..ummm"

"Never mind, have you girls eaten" Kate said changing the subject, much to Sienna's relief

"Not yet" Addison said

"Well it's a little late for breakfast and a bit too early for lunch, so what about I make you some pancakes for brunch, it's my day off today"

"Yer, thanks Kate"

"That would be great" the girls chorused

Kate was a preschool teacher; she worked Wednesdays, to Fridays. And she absolutely loved it, she loved playing all day in sand and goo and paint and glue, she loved the blocks and the dolls, but most of all she loved spending her days with the little kids. She couldn't explain why, but Steve seemed to think it was because Kate was more child than adult, she loved the simple things in life, she never let anything worry her, got over excited, and giggled alot. These were some of the reasons why Sienna liked her so much.

The girls bounced down the stairs, Sienna in her dress, Addison in her hello kitty flannel pyjamas, they perched themselves on the stools at the breakfast bar, to watch as Kate made them their pancakes. The conversation drifted nicely from easy subject to easy subject, but then unexpectedly

"So Addy are you going to Terry's with Enna and her FRIEND" Kate said stressing the word friend

"Umm no actually I was going to stay here for the day until Enna got back, if you don't mind that is" Addison replied

"No that's fine, I have to go down the street today, I've got my sister's wedding coming up and I don't have anything to wear, neither do you Enna, maybe another time then" Kate replied nonchalantly.

"Oh yeah, I'm really sorry Kate I totally forgot" Sienna said quickly

Kate laughed "no it's ok, this friend had better be a good one"

"Ummm..."

Addison rescued her "No I don't mind, Rachel's birthday is in a few days, so I was going to make a big canvas with lots pictures on it"

"Awk that sounds good"

Rachel was one of Sienna and Addison's closest friends, they had a usual group of six people, it consisted of, Rachel, short and petite, she was a tiny girl with long, light brown hair, and caramel eyes, She was a sweet girl, shy, and preferred to go unnoticed. Rach was very creative, she loved to paint and stitch and make ugly things beautiful, she was going to be an artist.

Lilly, She was of medium height, and thin, but not skinny, she had shortish, straight, layered golden hair, and emerald green eyes. She was the hard worker of the group, she had six brothers and sisters, of which she was the oldest, her parents bought her up with a work hard or get nothing kind of attitude, and that's what she did, she was sensible, rational, logical, and very honest.

Isabelle, but everyone called her Bella, she was a little bit shorter than Lilly, but a bit on the chubby side. She had a rounded face with long dark brown wavy hair, and dark eyes. She hilariously funny, she never let what other people thought worry her, she was reasonably intelligent, she was easy going, and made jokes out of everything because "Life is too short to be taken seriously"

Bree, or Brianna, was very tall, she was the Athletic one of the group, she was a sprinter, a swimmer, a marathon runner, a soccer player, a netballer, you name the sport and Bree was good at it. She won all the School carnivals, and most of the time was away at some skills camp, or championship somewhere. Bree laughed alot, and always managed to find a good thing about even the most hopeless of situations, She was very positive and never gave up, she could never say anything bad about anyone else, but on the sporting field Bree was brutally competitive.

After the pancakes where cooked, there wasn't much conversation as the girls shovelled down as much of the delicious food that they could physically hold. Pancakes were a rare occasion so you made the most of it when they came. Sienna refused the offer of a lift from Kate and started the walk to Terry's with her fingers crossed. She couldn't wait to see Alex again.

Alex looked at his watch it read 1:30 and he sighed nervously as he pulled on a pair of grey baggy jeans, and a blue round necked shirt with faded squiggly writing across it. His hair still looked like he had just got out of bed, but that didn't matter, he liked it like that anyway. He grabbed his wallet and phone as he walked down stairs; he quickly scribbled a note to jack, something about going to visit one of his mates, grabbed his keys and walked out the door, locking it behind it him. Terry's was about a 20 minute walk from his place and he needed the fresh air, the exercise might help to calm his mutant bats down a bit to. The sun was shining, it was a beautiful day, his nervousness soon turned to excitement as he got closer to his destination, he rounded a corner and there sitting near the river nestled in between and antique shop and a second hand bookstore, was small country cottage with Terry's cafe swinging from the hand painted sign in the breeze. He walked up the path in between small bushes, pretty flowers, and hand carved statues, pushed open the old squeaky door and stepped inside. He was surrounded by small tables with antique chairs, lattices separated small areas giving it a more private setting. Paintings hung from the wooden walls, flowers and small knick knacks were packed into every available space. Overall the place had a warm welcoming atmosphere, which made Alex instantly relax and smile contently to himself , this was going to be a great day.

Alex looked around him, and there sitting at a small table in the corner of the room was Sienna smiling warmly at him. His heart skipped a beat, and his mouth became dry. Alex began to walk over to her, smiling happily back, making Sienna's heart melt at the sight of him. He pulled out a chair and sat down opposite her.

"Hello Alex" Sienna said, after a long pause in which she had regained control over her ability to speak.

Alex grinned at her "Hello Sienna"

"Enna" she said smiling back at him "Call me Enna"

"Ok" he replied, instantly comfortable with her company "Enna it is"

Just then the waitress walked over, old Mrs Cummins, she owned Terry's and did most of the waitressing herself.

"Enna, Alex, well what a surprise" she said, the two were regular customers, although never there at the same time.

"What can I get you guys" she added

"An iced coffee" Sienna said

"Two iced coffee's" Alex said smiling

"Very well" Mrs Cummins said "Two iced coffees coming right up"

"So" Sienna said "I don't really know very much about you, so why don't you tell me about yourself"

Alex grinned "Well if you really want to know..."

The conversation flowed easily each telling the other about themselves, feeling comfortable and perfectly relaxed, content with the way things seemed to be working out, pausing to take sips of coffee.

"Hey" Alex said suddenly "You want to go do something"

"We are doing something" Sienna said smiling

"Something else" Alex said smiling back

"Ok, like what"

"Dunno"

"Ok, lets go"

They left some money on the table, thanked Mrs Cummins and walked out the door.

"Which way" Alex said looking both ways down the path

"This way" Sienna said taking Alex's hand in hers and pulling him down the path after her

"Lets' go this way"

They walked down along the river contently, laughing, and talking. Alex pulled Sienna close as they walked, put an arm around her shoulders, and kissed her gently on the cheek. She smiled and sighed contently.

"Alex" She said excitedly, pointing directly in front of her "Let's skate"

"What" Alex said looking confused?

"Let's go roller-skating" she repeated still pointing. Alex grinned, directly in front of them was a roller-skating rink, one of those public ones, it was situated right in the middle of a big park that ran along one side of the river, they had roller skates for hire.

"Good idea" he said grinning down and Sienna

She smiled and then pushed up on the tips of her toes and captured his lips in hers, he responded instantly by pulling her closer, deepening the kiss, and running his finger through her blonde curls.

She pulled away and smiled at him, which disabled his ability to speak.

"Ready"

He grinned at her and nodded, once they had hired skates and Alex had gotten over how breathless her kiss had made him. They were out on the ice, skating around and around, sometimes hand in hand, sometimes not. They were smiling and laughing oblivious to those around them.

"Favourite colour" Sienna said

"Blue" Alex answered

"Favourite food" She replied

"Sushi"

"Really" she said laughing "I love sushi"

The two of them where still there, well after everyone else had gone home, asking silly questions, laughing, perfectly happy with each other's company.

His touch still set her skin on fire. Her Smile still melted his heart. Looking at him still made her heart skip a beat, and her voice still sent the mutant bats back to his stomach. But they didn't mind.

Alex skated in front of Sienna, pushing her backwards against the rail, he held her there for a while looking at her contently as she stared back up at him with her amazing eyes, he caressed her cheek gently with his thumb, and kissed her, slowly, gently and deliberately on the lips.

He pulled away

"I had better get you home aye"

Sienna smiled "Probably" but she was reluctant to leave this had been one of the best days of her life, why did it have to end so suddenly.

"Steve will kill me if we're out here too much longer"

Sienna had told him she lived with people who weren't her parents, she hadn't said why, and he didn't push it, he could sense it was a sensitive subject and she would tell him when she was ready, as would he, when he was ready.

Sienna nodded she knew he was right, Steve didn't even know where she was, let alone who she was with.

They pulled off their skates and pushed them into the RETURN box. And Alex began to walk Sienna home, his arm around her shoulder once again, keeping her close as the evening was chilly. They didn't talk much, but there wasn't anything that needed to be said.

They reached Sienna house

"Alex..." she began but he cut her off in another of his breathtaking kisses.

Ales smiled at her, she smiled back and reached around to pull his phone out of his back pocket. She entered her number and with a quick kiss and a smile she disappeared inside the house.


	5. Spaghetti

**yepa/n ok guys heres the next chapter sorry 2 keep u waiting this long but unfortunately exams have to come first, but here it is. OMG thankyou all for reviewing it's so great to read them. Keep it up even if its bad I still wanna hear it that's what makes the story better. haha thanks for the help with my punctuation, my english teacher would shoot me if she ever saw the mistakes i make lol. keep reading. Ok enough of my babble and on with the story**

**disclaimer: once again i don't own Alex Rider etc, etc, etc...**

Sienna closed the door behind her and leant against it for a moment a huge grin plastered across her delicate face. She squealed happily to herself and bounded into the kitchen. Steve was sitting at the kitchen counter reading the paper, while Kate was cooking dinner, and by the smell of it they were having roast chicken for dinner. Sienna loved roast chicken.

She glanced around and saw Addison sitting in the lounge, which was directly off the kitchen. She was sprawled out on one of Kate's red couches her feet hanging over the end and one arm draped off the side, hanging lazily on the floor. She had a creamy looking rug covering the bottom half of her body. Sienna looked up at the tv, Addison was watching re-runs of Greys Anatomy, Izzy was lying on the bathroom floor, staring up at the ceiling. Sienna has seen this episode hundreds of times before, it was Addison's newest obsession, and Sienna didn't mind sharing it with her.

Kate glanced up and saw her, smiling she said "Hey Enna, have a nice time"

At the sudden break of silence, Steve looked up from the paper, and Addison paused Grey's anatomy and poked her head of the top of the couch.

Steve looked back down at his paper.

"Hey Enna, how is this boy of yours, you know if you go staying out this late I'm going to have to meet him, not a trouble maker I hope" he said trying but failing to hide the enormous grin the was slowly creeping onto his face.

Kate looked up and smiled, Sienna knew he was joking but decided to play along anyway.

"Yeah well, I was going to stay out longer but we had to cut it short you know the whole him being on the run from the law and all, don't worry though, I hope to see him next week after he smuggles himself back into the country" Sienna responded nonchalantly

Steve laughed, Kate smiled, and Addison giggled.

"Nice to know you always pick the good ones Enna, nothing but the best for you I see" he said sarcastically

"Of course" she said

After a moment of silence and in a much more serious tone, Steve looked up from his paper and said

"When do we get to meet him by the way"

Just at that moment Addison decided it was time she joined the conversation.

"Don't worry, you'll have to meet him eventually, I have a feeling they're going to be spending a lot more time together, he's a keeper, he is"

At this Steve and Kate both raised their eyebrows and looked up at Sienna, who grinned goofily back at them.

"Really" Kate said

Sienna have grinned, half nodded, and half opened her mouth to speak all at the same time, so she kind of looked vaguely like a demented goldfish that was getting its teeth cleaned.

Kate laughed, "I see then, well dinner is nearly ready so why don't you go and have a quick shower and get cleaned up. Oh by the way I found a nice dress today for my sister's wedding. It's in a few weeks you know, we'll have to find you something".

Sienna nodded and started up the stairs, a bit embarrassed about what she'd just accidentally given away. She wasn't even sure if she liked this guy that much, so why did he make her feel like this. Addison was right, he is a keeper, and as far as she was concerned all hers, well kind of anyway.

Addison, desperate for juicy details on Sienna's day, leapt up from the lounge, sent the blanket flying, and raced up the stairs, calling after her.

"Wait Sienna, I'll help"

Steve raised his eyebrows at Kate, who shrugged and smiled.

"Looks like we've got a boy on the scene now, Lord Help us" Steve said looking down at his paper.

Kate laughed "We'll be right, as long as she's happy".

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Alex stood on the path as Sienna closed the door behind her; smiling happily he turned and practically started skipping down the path...but not quite.

As he started home down the path he began thinking about the day that had just passed, he had had so much fun with Sienna, she was funny, smart, sweet, and absolutely gorgeous. Every moment he spent with her his feeling grew, there was even a very good chance that he might even fall in love with this one! As much as this thought sent a shiver of excitement up his spine, there was also a feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach. All the times that MI6 had jetted him off around the world to do their dirty work had not been easy for his house keeper, Jack, but they were able to deal with it. Some way or another, but if his feelings continued to grow for Sienna and her feelings continued to grow for him, the last thing that he wanted was for her to get hurt when he was un-expectantly thrown half way across the world into the path of some psycho. He was going to have to tell her, but not just yet.

Alex made that conclusion as he was walking his front path to the front door, the gravel crunching loudly under his feet. He turned his key in the lock and opened the door. As soon as he stepped into the front room the mouth watering aroma of spaghetti Bolognese filled his nostrils. He turned the corner into the kitchen and found Jack at the stove, an exotic green scarf tied around her head 

keeping her red hair from falling into he pot of mince she was leaning over. She looked up at Alex and smiled as he walked into the room.

"Hey Alex" she said, casually as she sprinkled some more herbs into the simmering sauce.

"Hey Jack" Alex said, he walked over to the stove and took a deep breath as he inhaled the amazing smell of Jack's spaghetti Bolognese.

"Jack" Alex said, a small frown crossing his features.

"Umm yes Alex" Jack said, not so casually this time.

"What's the occasion?" Jack knew that Alex loved spaghetti, but it took her ages to cook, as it was a recipe passed down from generation to generation, and needed to simmer for about 2 hours. Jack hardly ever made spaghetti unless...

Alex looked up at Jack curiously; she was staring at him, her lips curving up into a delicate, pleading smile, though lines of worry still creased her forehead.

"Oh Jack, not another one" Alex said, raising his hands in exasperation "this is the second one this month"

"Ahh come on Alex it won't be that bad, I really like this one, all you have to do is eat dinner with us, smile politely and then you can do whatever you want"

Alex frowned, Jack went out with a lot of guys in the hope of finding Mr. right, if there was ever an above average one. Jack would bring him home to have dinner and meet Alex. She told him it was part of the process of eliminating the "bad eggs", but as it seemed there seemed to be a whole lot of guys who would come home, and then disappear. Only for Jack to bring home another one a few weeks.

Jack smiled at Alex sweetly, "Please" she asked

Alex caved "Oh why not, if I get to eat some more of that" he laughed pointing at the mince cooking.

Alex sat down at the table, pulling a paper towards him, he flicked through the pages. He wasn't actually reading it was more out of boredom than curiosity.

"He's a doctor you know" Jack said, Alex raised an eyebrow

"Well actually" she admitted "he's a nurse"

Alex barely stifled a laugh, but Jack noticed "Hey, be nice" she said laughing "Besides, I heard you spent most of the day entertaining a nice young girl" Jack said smiling at him.

Alex could tell she didn't want to pry into his personal life, but at the same time he could see the curiosity burning in her eyes.

"She's nice" he said simply, he was pretty sure she was much more than nice but he didn't want to give anything away just yet, it was so easy to get hurt, and he wasn't going to get his hopes up. Especially if he was going to tell her that her was actually a secret agent.

Jack raised one delicate eyebrow in his direction "nice?" she repeated

"Yeah..nice"

"ok"

"What's her name?"

"Sienna"

"mm, pretty name. She a pretty girl?"

Alex laughed "Yeah Jack, she's a very pretty girl"

Jack laughed too, "that's good boy" she said ruffling his hair

"why don't you go and have a shower, put some clothes on, and come down, he'll be here about seven"

Alex glanced up at the clock hanging on the wall, it was now six, he stood up and walked up the stairs to his bedroom where he threw himself down on his bed and pulled his phone out of his back pocket. He went into his phonebook and searched until he found **enna x. **He stared at the number for a good long time, telling himself that today had really happened. It was so great he could barey get his mind around it. Eventually he got off his bed. Sat his phone on the bedside table, promising himself that he would call later. Then he went off to have a shower, and get ready for the night ahead.

...

_**The next day**_ _**(Tuesday night)**_

Sienna lay on her back on her bed reading a magazine Kate had bought her that day, in one of the dress shops. She was supposed to be looking and trying to find something she liked that she could wear to Kate's sister, Fiona's wedding. But she just couldn't keep her mind off Alex. He had called her the night before and they had talked for what seemed like hours and hours about nothing really, just stuff, and although they didn't declare their love for each other, or have any in depth conversations Sienna had loved every minute of the teasing, playful, flirting that had been going on over the phone.

But now Sienna was lying on her back reading the magazine, trying desperately to pass time. Glancing at the silver watch on her wrist every few seconds waiting for 7:oopm to arrive. Alex had suggested that he take her out tonight for a real date, and she had eagerly agreed. He was taking her out her out for dinner to a nice restaurant down town. She had no idea which one it was, but he had assured her that the food was great. Then they were going to see a movie, Alex had insisted that she pick the movie. But when Sienna had rang up the theatre to see what was showing she specifically picked something she thought Alex would like. "The Enemy" or something it was called..but Sienna didn't mind much what the movie was, she could be watching a documentary on sea cucumbers and still love every minute because if Alex was there then she was happy.

Sienna got up and through her magazine down on the bed she began pacing anxiously around her room. Now and then stopping to gaze absentmindedly into the mirror, she was dressed in a high waisted black shirt, not too tight, but not too loose with big pockets at the side. A white skivvy with a simple string of silver beads. To finish off she had worn her favourite bright red, suede stilettos. She has pinned her hair back in a delicate ponytail down her back, letting a few curls fall to frame her face beautifully. She looked classy and stylish, but not over done. She felt good, confident even with how she looked. Just as she was tucking a stray curl back behind her ear, she heard the doorbell ring. Sienna bounded down the stars grabbing her black clutch as she ran out of her bedroom.

She raced past the living room, shouting a quick goodbye to Kate and Steve. (who had been given strict instructions not to answer the door, at any cost) they smiled at her and waved as she walked casually to the door catching her breath as she went.

Sienna checked herself in the hall mirror and opened the door to Alex who was standing on the front step, smiling that crooked grin that made her heart melt.

"Ready" he said

"Yep" Sienna replied

Alex took Sienna's hand in his as they walked down the front path, pulling her close and whispering in her ear

"You look beautiful"


	6. moving along

**a/n. Ok here's the next chapter (finally) I had a small dilemma with where it was going and some pretty serious block. But not to worry, here it is and the next instalment is on the way. Hope you all like it and don't forget to review precious readers **

**disclaimer: Don't own Alex Rider, never have, never will (wish I did though)..etc, etc.**

Sienna slid her key into the front door and quietly slid the door open, careful to avoid the creak that would betray her late arrival. She placed her keys in the dark blue porcelain bowl on the hall table and pushed the gently until it closed with a resounding click. She smiled to herself, the door hadn't made a sound, Steve and Kate would be up in bed asleep, Addison would be sprawled out on Sienna's bed, the TV still going in her attempt to keep herself awake until Sienna arrived home, she was home and hosed.  
She scooted past the living room and made her way to the stairs, placing one delicately heeled foot on the bottom step, Sienna froze,

She shimmied back down the hall and poked her head around the corner of the wall, there was Steve, sarcastically beaming up at her from a luscious green lounge chair in the corner, a small lamp casting a damp glow over his sternly comical features.

Sienna groaned

_Oh Boy, here we go_

"Hiya Enna" Steve chirped "Nice time I presume, seeing as you know.. it's now, I don't know...1:00am"!!

Sienna plastered the most innocent smile she could master over her delicate features

"I'm not that late really, I mean only half hour later than I said I'd be and I mean you didn't really have to wait up for me, I was going to come home I swear" Sienna reasoned, her eyebrows raised in hopeful anticipation.

"I know, I know" Steve said, his brow creased slightly "I was just thinking though, you're out to all hours of the night with this boy, one you've only just met, one that I haven't even met, I just don't want you to go getting yourself attached to this one to quickly, I don't want you to get hurt" He said sincerely, a small smile crept across his face and smoothed the creases in his brow

"Although that would mean I get to beat him senseless..yeah?"

Sienna relaxed instantly, her face now a glow in a bemused smile, she pulled off her heels and padded her way over to Steve and planted a kiss on his cheek.

"No Steve" she said sternly, "You definitely may not beat him senseless" pausing "besides he's pretty strongly built, not sure if you could, you should feel the muscles in his...."

"Woahh.." Steve interrupted, "No thank you, there's a girl upstairs passed out on your bed that I'm sure would love very much to hear the details of his umm..of whats-his-names umm..."

"Alex's muscles?" Sienna finished for him.

"Yes..umm that one..I"m going to bed now" Steve said uncomfortably

Sienna sighed contentedly to herself as she tip toed up the stairs, careful not to wake Kate. She eased her door open to find Addison curled up under the covers, her fiery hair splayed out across the pillow. The television in the corner murmured softly to itself and cast an aesthetic glow across the walls. Sienna made her way over to it and pushed the power button, the room went dark and she was left to fumble her way to the bed where she pulled off her clothes and scrambled into bed wearing her most favourite flannel pyjamas. She closed her eyes gently and allowed herself to be lulled to sleep by the steady sound of Addison's breathing.

Alex trudged down the stairs, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and yawning loudly. He called out to Jack but was met with silence. He stumbled from room to room searching for Jack, but gave up and went into the kitchen where he found a note scribbled on a piece of scrap paper sitting on the bench next to a glass of orange juice.

"_Went to have brunch with the doctor....ahh nurse"_

_Oooh he's still around is he _Alex though to himself, He laughed out loud then, _A nurse!!!_

His laughter echoed around the empty house, There was no way he was going to be able to spend the entire day here by himself, he thought seriously to himself as he downed his juice and munched thoughtfully on a nectarine.

The dinner date had gone successfully and had been followed by numerous other outings, walking, they had been back to the ice rink, watched a few movies and generally enjoyed each other's company. It had been four weeks since Alex had met Sienna at the party and things were moving along rather nicely, if he did say so himself. He was actually surprised how comfortably they had settled into each other's company. Usually, with him being away so often to do with things that he couldn't mention, he had trouble connecting with people, but Sienna was much different he always lit up when she was around.

Alex smiled to himself, he was actually seriously considering bringing her home to meet Jack, who had been constantly nagging about his time spent with his 'mystery girl'.

Now though, he needed something to entertain himself, he fidgeted with the note on the counter.

_Tom was in trouble from another late night,_

_Enna had gone shopping with Kate for a dress for some wedding thing,_

_And Jack was off to find Mr. right..in the nurse_

His secretive and constant disappearances meant that any friendships he had established when he was younger had simply fizzled and died over lost contact and prying questions that Alex had, on many occasions casually shrugged off with his mysterious illnesses.

_Perhaps I'll go for a walk._

Ten minutes later Alex had pulled on a pair of light denim jeans and a black t-shirt. He shoved his phone in his pocket, pulled on a pair of red converse and pulled the door shut behind him.

Absentmindedly turning left, he walked down the path in his street amongst the towering trees, manicured lawns and pristine houses of his 'up market' neighbourhood. He smiled at Mrs. Maple across the street who was whispering soft nothings to her roses as she carefully snipped and plucked at the flowers. Charlie down the street was having stern words with his three year old sister on the exact and 'proper' way to ride a bicycle as their dad raised his hand in recognition from his position behind the paper on the front veranda. The occasional car sped past, the driver immersed in his or her own world.

A cool breeze gently ruffled Alex's hair and tugged at his shirt, the warm golden rays of morning snuck through the canopy of leaves and caressed his face, warming him and lifting his spirit. He made his way down to the river and past Terry's Cafe where he had been with Sienna weeks ago, it had become 'their place' much to the amusement of the owner, old Mrs. Cummins. His mind drifted out across the cool water, over to the other side where couples and families lounged on the banks, the happy squeal of children and soft coo of the birds mingled together to form a song of morning that danced on the wind.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw something move, he casually turned to see a harsh looking man in a dark suit sitting uncomfortably on a park bench behind a newspaper, the newspaper though seemed to have been forgotten and sat limply on the man's lap. His cool eyes were trained on Alex.

Alex casually made his way over to the bench and sat, nonchalantly on the opposite end. Automatically his muscles tensed, though outwardly he appeared a relaxed teenager simply stopping to enjoy the serenity.

The man lowered his eyes and carefully folded his newspaper, taking great care to crease the thin pages with childlike innocence. One hand, clad in expensive black leather placed the paper on the seat and reached up to adjust his sunglasses.

"Alex"

"Blunt"

The head of the secretive British intelligence agency patted the bench closer to him, signalling Alex to move within comfortable ear shot, Alex stayed exactly where he was and Mr blunt responded with an emphatic sigh and a harsh look. He slid down the cool concrete closer to Alex.

"Alex, dear boy, it's been quite some time since we spoke last. How have you been?"

"What do you want" Alex replied coolly, he knew very well that these people meant business, he on the other hand wanted nothing to do with it and it was unlikely that the head of MI6 was just stopping in to see how he had been.

Blunt frowned, "right down to be business as usual I see"

Alex grimaced "Whatever it is, why ever you are here, I want nothing to do with whatever scheme you've cooked up this time, whatever villain is taking over the world. It's not my problem" Alex said, his cool blue eyes were trained directly on the opposite bank, a young dad and his son, of no more than 8 years were passing a football between them, The father smiled with pride as the young boy gave an almighty heave and tossed the ball no more than a metre before it bounced and lay still in the grass. Because of these people, Alex had never had a childhood like that.

"Now Alex" Blunt replied "I assure you that I am here for nothing more than a little chat"

Alex cocked one eyebrow quizzically in response

"It has come to our attention, that you have been spending some time of late with a pretty young thing by the name of.." Blunt turned his attention to Alex, "Sienna Collin"

Blunt paused, Alex wasn't sure if it was for effect but now Blunt most definitely had his attention

"Would I be correct in assuming that you are becoming rather attached Alex?"

Alex turned to the head of MI6 "Leave her out of this"

Blunt looked offended "Alex, dear boy, she isn't in this" His tone turned deadly serious "However I am here to provide a reminder, which I am sure you absolutely don't need Alex" He paused then added "We do need to ensure that you remember, that information from MI6, any information about MI6, stays absolutely confidential" His eyes remained on Alex's face, searching his strong features for something, anything that might indicate what was going on in his head"

Alex said nothing, he face remained set.

"We wouldn't want your girl to get mixed up in this nonsense, now would we Alex" Blunt said, his false compassion cleverly masking the very subtle threat he had presented.

Alex nodded stiffly "There will be no need for her to know anything Blunt" he said through gritted teeth, "Leave her out of this"

Blunt smiled and rubbed his hands together "I'm so glad we agree Alex", now I'm very sorry to leave you, but I must be on my way...business needs to be attended to" Alex's brow creased at this. Blunt stood up, buttoned his jacket and made to leave.

"Do enjoy the paper Alex" he said smiling, "Mrs Jones is most interested to see how you are" With that he turned on his heel and strolled off along the river, to where a cleverly placed car was waiting no doubt.

Alex stood, allowing his muscles to relax and release the tension that always built up from any sort of meeting with those people. He grabbed the newspaper from the cool bench, a small square of pristine white paper fluttered to the ground. Curious, Alex bent down to pick it up. In neat, controlled print was a message, it read

_Alex, _

_June 13__th__,_

_HQ,_

_Mrs Jones. _

Oh great, I knew they wanted something. June 13th that's nearly a month and a half from today. Can't be too much of a pressing issue he thought coolly.

The paper, he binned.

The note, he pocketed.

Glancing at his watch, it was nearly 1:00pm and he made his way back along the river to last night's Chinese leftovers, seeing as it was unlikely Jack would be home just yet. Alex had been planning on telling Sienna about what he did when he was 'sick'. He had told her a bit about him one night, but just the basics

_(one week ago)_

_Jack was out and Alex and Sienna had ordered in some Thai food and were happily curled up on the couch watching some movie, but neither had been paying that much attention._

_Sienna had gathered up the take away containers that had been left on the coffee table and was making her way into the kitchen to the bin, when a photograph caught her eye. There weren't a lot of photos in Alex's house, mostly ones of Alex and the flaming red head that Alex referred to as Jack. But this one caught her eye. It was of two guys, one was obviously a young Alex and the other man was much older he had dark hair and tired eyes; he was very well built, athletic. Both guys were dressed in large thick jackets and were perched on top of a mountain, the magnificent view of valleys evident behind them. Both were grinning like Cheshire cats at the camera, cheeks rosy from the cold. _

"_That's me and my uncle" Sienna jumped, she had obviously been looking at the photo longer than she has intended and Alex had come up behind her._

"_My parents died when I was young, I don't remember them very well" he continued "My uncle took me in, but he worked a lot, travelled a lot too so I didn't see him much. We went rock climbing that time he was home though" Alex smiled slightly to himself_

_Sienna rested the containers on the hall table and turned around to face Alex as he talked._

"_He always did stuff like that, think he felt guilty that he wasn't around much, so he used to take me heaps of paces. Scuba diving, abseiling, rock climbing. Broke my arm on the way down from that one" Alex smiled and pointed at the photograph. Sienna rested her hands on his chest. _

"_That's how come Jack is here, My uncle hired her to look after me when he was away..and she just kind of...stayed" he laughed then "She likes to think she's very responsible, but sometimes I think she's the bigger kid than I am" he smiled down at Sienna who was listening intently, he gathered her up in his arms and kissed her lightly on the forehead._

_She smiled and giggled, squirming out of his arms she picked up the containers and went into the kitchen, Alex returned to the couch to wait for her._

"_She took that well" he thought "Next time I'll tell her" he assured himself._

"Kaaatteee" Sienna groaned "Are we done yet"

Kate grinned "Yep, I think we are"

Sienna perked up at this "thank goodness"

Kate laughed "I know, I'm exhausted"

Kate had taken Sienna shopping as her sister Fiona's wedding was coming up in a couple of weeks and Sienna had been putting off buying a dress. She had looked through magazine after magazine that Kate had bought home, but she hadn't been able to find anything right, so for the last four hours Kate had dragged Sienna through shop after shop of dresses. Sienna was feeling pretty optimistic at the start of the day, but had gradually become more and more hopeless as nothing seemed to look any good.

"_Dress shopping is disheartening" she had groaned to Kate after walking out of their fifth dress shop with nothing to show for it._

_Kate shot her a sympathetic look, she was a bridesmaid so she didn't really have that much choice in the matter. "I know hun, how about we go and get some lunch instead, I'm kind of sick of this shopping thing at the moment"_

_Sienna smiled and agreed as they made their way through the crowds to a comfy little cafe on the street, they chose a window seat, and settled down into the red armchairs that had replaced the traditional hard dining chairs. Sienna sighed and settled down to gaze out the window at the passing people, while Kate studied the menu positioned in between the salt and pepper shakers._

_She was just observing an old couple navigate the tides of people when something caught her eye._

"_Kate!!!" she squealed_

"_What, Sienna what is it?" Kate said, clearly surprised at her outburst_

"_Look, look over there" _

_Kate followed the vector of Sienna's finger and her eyes rested upon a small boutique across the street, in the front window was a mannequin. _

" _Ohh wow Enna" Kate replied breathlessly "Come on" she said grabbing her bag and Sienna's hand as she rushed out the door. "We'll be right back" she yelled after her to a bewildered waiter who had come to take their orders._

_Kate and Sienna rushed across the road, pushing through the crowd until they reached the shop, the bell tinkled as they burst breathlessly through the door. Both girls flushed with excitement._

_Sienna ran her hands over the material as she looked at herself in the mirror,_

"_Oh Enna, it's gorgeous" Kate said grinning _

_Sienna smiled excitedly, "Yes I love it"_

_The dress was black lace that was cut high covering her whole chest. It was sleeveless with a black under dress that stopped anything being seen. It went to about mid thigh and clung to Sienna's figure, hugging her nicely. It was flattering, but simple. Nothing fancy, but perfect"_

_She nodded at Kate, who smiled back excitedly "I think we might have found it" she said_

Sienna dumped her bag on her bed and pulled her dress out of its bag, she ran her fingers admiringly over the fabric before hanging it in her wardrobe. She dug her shoes out of the box and tugged them lightly onto her feet, she had chosen tough heels to compliment a very feminine dress. They had a thick heel, thick black straps that ran up either side to join a big strap that ran straight up the centre of her foot, a Celtic style zipper ran up the length of the strap. She secured them to her feet and stood up, smiling down lovingly at her feet.

The sound of her phone ringing beside her interrupted her thought and she bounded across the room to flop on her bed and place her phone to her ear.

"Hello" she chirped

"Enna, Hi how you going its Rach"

"Rach, Hi I'm great, and you?"

The girls talked excitedly for a few minutes about Sienna's dress for the wedding and the guy that Rach had been asked out by that day, she was going out with him the next night and needed Sienna's consultation on what to wear"

Siennas laughed "Rach hun, you know most of my stuff is thrown together, you'd be better off to ask Addy"

"Yeah I know, I was just trying to avoid turning my wardrobe over" she smiled into the phone. "Speaking of Addy, are you two going to be coming together to my party this Saturday?"

"Umm actually Rach, I wanted to ask you a favour"

"Yessss" Rachel responded her curiosity now sky high, Sienna and Addison were practically joined at the hip at parties

"I was wondering if I might be able to bring someone else this Saturday" she paused "Alex, he's umm, well I'm actually pretty sure he's my boyfriend, but would you mind, I'd really love for you all to meet him"

Sienna was met was a high pitched girly scream and was forced to hold her phone out, away from her at arm's length.

"Ohh absolutely you can, Enna, why didn't you ask sooner, I can't wait to meet him" Rachel babbled excitedly to Enna to smiled.

"Well I haven't actually asked him yet" Sienna confessed

"Oh he just has to say yes, he will I just know it Enna, it will be fantastic" Rachel assured her

Alex groaned and hung up for the fourth time as the steady _beep, beep, beep _ of the busy tone blasted into his ear. Jack hovered expectantly over his shoulder, her eyebrows tensed in anticipation. Alex shook his head and smiled at Jack reassuringly,

"Nope" he said and sank back into the couch, Jack sighed and slumped down next to him.

"I was a teenage girl once" Jack said thoughtfully "Surely I didn't spend that much time on the phone"

Alex laughed at her "Once more" he said and pushed the redial button on his phone which automatically punched in Sienna's and dialled. Alex sighed and placed the phone to his ear, this time instead of the continued _beep, beep, beep _of an engaged line he was met instead with ringing. He smiled at Jack, who perched herself on the edge of the chair and gazed at Alex expectantly

"is it ringing?" she mouthed excitedly, Alex nodded.

Sienna had barely hung up from talking to Rachel when her phone began to buzz like something possessed on her bedside table.

She grinned and sank down onto her bed when she recognised Alex's number on the screen

"Hey you" she said softly into the phone.

"Hey Enna" Alex responded "how you doing?"

"Yeah pretty good" she smiled "Just talked to Rachel actually she umm.."

Alex cut her off as Jack waved at him impatiently "Umm hey Enna" he said, his voice wavered and Sienna sat upright, she was curious at the tone in Alex's voice, she smiled, he sounded nervous.

"Yes Alex" she said gently. Smiling

"Well I was kind of wondering" Alex glanced over to Jack who was gesturing madly at Alex and then pointing to herself.. "What?" Alex whispered

Jack glared at him "I was wondering too, I want to meet her"

"Ok, ok I'm getting there" Alex said

Sienna giggled at the hushed conversation taking place on the end of the phone

"Jack" he emphasised "and I were wondering"

"Happy?" he mouthed and glared at a very smug looking Jack who was looking at him expectantly "Get on with it" she mouthed and smiled

"You were wondering?..." Sienna trailed off

"If you would like to have dinner with Jack and I tomorrow night?" Alex said confidently

Jack inched forward on her chair and motioned with her hands in relation to Sienna's response

Siennas smiled to herself "Sure Alex I'd love to"

Alex gave Jack the thumbs and she jumped up off the couch chattering excitedly to herself, completely forgetting that Siennas could hear everything.

"Oh how exciting" she chirped "Alex has a girlfriend, and I get to meet her, me!!" she paused and walked into the kitchen "now what to cook what to cook..."

Sienna giggled on the other end, and Alex smiled.

"Can you be here about seven?" Alex said, "Doesn't matter if you're a bit late, we usually are"

"Nope, seven is perfect" Sienna said as an excited, but slightly nervous smiled crept across her face, and her tummy did a little flip.

Sienna had just got out of the shower it was around 6:00 and she was standing in front of her wardrobe, staring blankly at the drab contents which glared back at her.

_What the hell am I going to wear _ she thought anxiously tugging on her bottom lip.

_What do you wear to meet someone's parents, well it's not even his parents. Nothing too revealing, nothing to tight, but nothing completely covered up, I might as well turn up as a nun.._

"urrghh" she groaned to herself and closed the doors

"Enna!!?" a voice called as someone bounded up the stairs and burst through the door, there standing in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, her hair pulled up in a loose ponytail, was Addison beaming down at Sienna who was now slumped hopelessly on the floor.

"Get up, get up, I will not have you lying on that floor tonight" she said sternly, striding over to the wardrobe she flung the doors open and started riffling through every item that Sienna owned. Mumbling softly to herself occasionally paused to look at Sienna and consult an item of clothing that she grasped firmly in one hand.

Addison whipped around "it's pretty casual right?, you're going to his place for dinner with Jack?" she queried

Sienna nodded dumbly and managed to squeak out "I think so"

Addison nodded, more to herself than Sienna and turned around to continue her invasion.

Sienna looked at to the door when she was interrupted with a small "ahem", Addison remained unfazed and continued without any hint of hearing anything

Kate had poked her head around the edge of the door and was smiling at Sienna, who grinned back sheepishly.

"Thought you might have needed a bit of help" she said softly

Sienna nodded and beckoned her in, by this time Addison had laid several items out on the bed and had turned back to Sienna, her cheeks flushed, her fiery hair having managed to escape the holds of her hair tie.

"Try these on" she said grinning at Sienna.

Sienna glanced down at the bed, there was a pair of dark denim skinny jeans and an array of tops. She pulled the jeans on and turned to Addison who nodded her approval, handed her a bundle of clothing and pointed towards the bathroom.

Sienna grumbled something about slavery and trudged towards the bathroom.

When she emerged she had on a pink strappy top, with a few ruffles and some beads, she tugged at the beads.

"Nope" Addison declared and gave her another handful of clothes and marched her off to the bathroom, Sienna caught Kate's eye, and was reassured when she also shook her head at the pink ruffles.

The next time she opened the door she had on a white T-shirt with a faded vintage print, she had a grey cardigan, and rustic gold heart hung around her neck.

"bit casual" Addison frowned

Ten minutes later, Sienna emerged from the bathroom in something that both women approved of. Sienna surveyed her room, clothes were strewn across the floor where Addison had impatiently discarded them.

The decision had been made when she had came out wearing her dark denim jeans, she had a black short sleeved blouse, with a low scoop neck and some cleverly positioned ruffles. She had finished it off with some gold earrings and black pumps. She had let her hair hang in loose curls on her shoulders. She smiled back at her reflection, when she was standing on Alex's front step she would, no doubt, be a nervous wreck. But at this very moment she felt incredibly confident.

Addison had left a few minutes earlier, but not without making Sienna swear she would call with details. In the mean time she had gone home to snuggle up on the couch with James her boyfriend, whom she had momentarily abandoned. Kate had also exited the room after giving Sienna a kiss on the cheek and reassuring squeezed her shoulders. Sienna took one last look at herself in the mirror, ruffled her curls a little and ran down the stairs. Steve had offered to give her a lift and within fifteen minutes she was standing on Alex's front door step.

The sheer size of place never ceased to amaze Sienna, it was incredibly modern and had been decorated and landscaped with impeccable taste.

_His uncle sure must of been something _

She glanced at her watch; five past seven. Took a deep breath to settle her nerves and prevent her stomach from doing triple round off back flips that would've won gold at any gymnastics event.

And rang the doorbell.


End file.
